The Court of Justice of the European Union, based in Luxembourg, makes sure EU law is interpreted and applied in the same way in every member state. It is made up of two courts: the Court of Justice and the General Court.
- Acronym
- CJEU
- Seat
- Luxembourg
- Established
- 1952 as the Court of Justice of the ECSC; General Court created in 1988
- Members
- Court of Justice: 27 judges (one per member state) and 11 Advocates General; General Court: 54 judges (two per member state); renewable six-year terms
- Head
- Koen Lenaerts, President of the Court of Justice since 8 October 2015
- Legal basis
- Article 19 TEU; Articles 251 to 281 TFEU; Protocol No 3 on the Statute of the Court
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is the EU’s judicial institution. Its task, under Article 19 of the Treaty on European Union, is to ensure that “the law is observed” in the interpretation and application of the treaties. It is made up of two courts. The Court of Justice is the higher court. The General Court, created in 1988, hears most cases brought directly by individuals and companies against EU institutions, for example in competition or trade mark cases. Its rulings can be appealed to the Court of Justice on points of law.
The judges are appointed by common accord of the member states’ governments for renewable six-year terms, after an independent panel of seven experts has assessed whether candidates are suitable. The Court of Justice also has 11 Advocates General, who give independent legal opinions on cases before the judges decide. The judges elect their President for three years.
The Court handles several kinds of cases. In preliminary rulings, a national judge facing a question of EU law asks the Court how to interpret it, and then applies the answer in the national case. This is how most of the major principles of EU law were established. In infringement cases, usually brought by the Commission, the Court decides whether a member state has failed to respect EU law. In actions for annulment, it reviews whether acts of EU institutions are lawful. Since 1 October 2024, preliminary rulings in six specific fields, including VAT and air passenger compensation, have been transferred to the General Court to reduce the Court of Justice’s workload.
Example
On 10 September 2024, the Court of Justice set aside an earlier judgment of the General Court and confirmed the Commission’s 2016 decision that Ireland had granted Apple unlawful state aid through tax rulings. Ireland was required to recover the aid, which the Commission had estimated at 13 billion euros. The judgment was final.
Debates and limits
The CJEU rules that EU law takes precedence over national law in areas where the EU has competence. Some national constitutional courts accept this only within limits. On 5 May 2020, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled that European Central Bank decisions on a bond-buying programme exceeded the ECB’s competences, and that a 2018 Court of Justice judgment approving the programme went beyond its mandate on this point. Supporters of the CJEU argue that a single final interpreter is needed for EU law to mean the same thing everywhere; critics argue that national courts must remain the guardians of their constitutions.
The CJEU should not be confused with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, which belongs to the Council of Europe, a separate organisation.